An Empirical Energy Demand Flexibility Metric for Residential Properties

Shifting from heating using fossil fuel combustion to electrified heating, dominated by heat pumps, is central to many countries’ decarbonisation strategy. The consequent increase in electricity demand, combined with that from electric vehicles, and the shift from non-renewable to renewable generation requires increased demand flexibility to support system operation. Demand side response through interrupting heating during peak demands has been widely proposed and simulation modelling has been used to determine the technical potential. This paper proposes an empirical approach to quantifying a building’s potential to operate flexibly, presenting a metric based on measured temperature drop in a dwelling under standard conditions after heating is switched off, using smart meter and internal temperature data. A result was derived for 96% of 193 homes within a test dataset, mean temperature drop of 1.5 °C in 3 h at 15 °C inside-outside temperature differential. An empirical flexibility metric may support decision making and decarbonisation. For households it may support the transition to heat pumps, enabling time of use costs and tariffs to be better understood and system to be specified by installers. Electricity system stakeholders, such as aggregators and DNOs may use it to identify the potential for demand response, managing local networks, infrastructure and aggregation

Demand response with heat pumps: Practical implementation of three different control options

The electrification of heating and transport and decarbonisation of supply creates a need for demand side flexibility to balance the grid. Heat pumps are expected to form a major part of heat delivery, and many modelling studies have investigated the technical potential of heat pump demand response. However, little empirical work has been reported on the practical implementation of such demand response in occupied homes. This paper presents a cross-case comparison of three early adopters of heat pump demand response in the UK. The aim was to reduce heat pump electricity consumption during the same peak period, but each employed a different control strategy: lowered air temperature setpoints, lowered flow temperature and blocked heat pump compressor. A 56–90% electricity reduction during the peak period was observed; the success of the demand response depended on how the control strategy affected the heat pump and the rest of the heating system. However, no one stakeholder is responsible for all these system components. The fabric, heating distribution and control system and heat pumps installed are highly heterogeneous across the stock, highlighting that flexibility mechanisms must be developed that can be tailored to or work across their range

An Empirical Energy Demand Flexibility Metric for Residential Properties

Shifting from heating using fossil fuel combustion to electrified heating, dominated by heat pumps, is central to many countries’ decarbonisation strategy. The consequent increase in electricity demand, combined with that from electric vehicles, and the shift from non-renewable to renewable generation requires increased demand flexibility to support system operation. Demand side response through interrupting heating during peak demands has been widely proposed and simulation modelling has been used to determine the technical potential. This paper proposes an empirical approach to quantifying a building’s potential to operate flexibly, presenting a metric based on measured temperature drop in a dwelling under standard conditions after heating is switched off, using smart meter and internal temperature data. A result was derived for 96% of 193 homes within a test dataset, mean temperature drop of 1.5 °C in 3 h at 15 °C inside-outside temperature differential. An empirical flexibility metric may support decision making and decarbonisation. For households it may support the transition to heat pumps, enabling time of use costs and tariffs to be better understood and system to be specified by installers. Electricity system stakeholders, such as aggregators and DNOs may use it to identify the potential for demand response, managing local networks, infrastructure and aggregation

Void conditions and potential for mould growth in insulated and uninsulated suspended timber ground floors

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Millions of properties have suspended timber ground floors globally, with around ten million in the UK alone. However, it is unknown what the floor void conditions are, nor the effect of insulating such floors. Upgrading floors changes the void conditions, which might increase or decrease moisture build-up and mould and fungal growth. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the current global evidence and present the results of in situ monitoring of 15 UK floor voids. Design/methodology/approach: An extensive literature review on the moisture behaviour in both uninsulated and insulated suspended timber crawl spaces is supplemented with primary data of a monitoring campaign during different periods between 2012 and 2015. Air temperature and relative humidity sensors were placed in different floor void locations. Where possible, crawl spaces were visually inspected. Findings: Comparison of void conditions to mould growth thresholds highlights that a large number of monitored floor voids might exceed the critical ranges for mould growth, leading to potential occupant health impacts if mould spores transfer into living spaces above. A direct comparison could not be made between insulated and uninsulated floors in the sample due to non-random sampling and because the insulated floors included historically damp floors. The study also highlighted that long-term monitoring over all seasons and high-resolution monitoring and inspection are required; conditions in one location are not representative of conditions in other locations. Originality/value: This study presents the largest UK sample of monitored floors, evaluated using a review of current evidence and comparison with literature thresholds.status: publishe

Building energy use in COVID-19 lockdowns: did much change?

The UK national lockdowns introduced to prevent the spread of COVID-19 had huge impacts on daily lives, as people were largely confined to their homes. It could be expected that residential energy use would drastically increase while non-residential decreased, however the picture is not so clear. In this paper three complementary datasets on different scales are used to explore changes in building energy use during two national lockdowns (spring 2020 and winter 2021): the complete building stock of Great Britain, a sample of ~1000 residential buildings, and a sample of ~24,000 residential boilers. Energy signature analysis was used for the building data to estimate the changes in energy consumption for space heating and otherwise, with the boiler data able to separate space and water heating and explore changes in these. In the 2020 lockdown residential energy consumption for water heating and appliances increased, with decreased use for heating, resulting in a reduction in total energy use during the heating season. In the 2021 lockdown total energy consumption changed little, however a decrease in the use of gas space heating was observed. These residential changes counteracted any non-domestic changes, resulting in little difference in national energy consumption

Technical evaluation of SMETER technologies (TEST) project

This report details work carried out by the Technical Assessment Contractor for the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) during Phase 2 of the Technical Evaluation of SMETER technologies (TEST) Project under the Smart Meter Enabled Thermal Efficiency Ratings (SMETER) Innovation Programme. The Technical Assessment Contractor, referred to here as the TEST team, comprises experts from Loughborough University, Leeds Beckett University, UCL, and Halton Housing